In what unofficially ties in with the WSOP 2021 Main Event in November, the partypoker US Network has revealed the Ultimate Super Satellite, a $1060 buy-in tournament that will reward packages which guide players to three live Las Vegas poker tournaments.
The one-off online event, which takes place on June 20 in two US markets, will award 1 package for every 25 players that register for the tournament. Each package is valued at $25,000.
The offer is running on all three rooms on the partypoker US Network in New Jersey (partypoker NJ, Borgata NJ and BetMGM NJ) and its single Michigan online poker site, BetMGM Poker MI. There has been no announcement yet of the offer in Pennsylvania.
“I think it’s pretty awesome,” said Borgata Poker USA Ambassador Katie Stone in a statement to pokerfuse. “We’ve never seen a satty like this in NJ before, so it’s great to see something this big that gives me the player the chance to play in a few big tournaments, or just keep the cash. It’s a win-win!”
The tournament is in the network’s Survivor format, which it debuted in May and is now a standard part of the weekly schedule. The last-longer structure means that players just need to survive the bubble to win a package worth $25,000.
This prize “may be used” on three different live event buy-ins during specific dates to a “land-based tournament in Las Vegas,” the promotional rules explain: a $10,000 buy-in for a tournament between June 25 and July 2; $5,000 to an event between July 2 and July 7 and—much further afield—a $10,000 buy-in to a tournament in November.
These dates align with three major tournaments in Las Vegas: The Wynn Millions, the $5k WPT Venetian, and the WSOP 2021 Main Event.
| Buy-in | Dates | Likely Event Target |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | June 25 – July 2 | Wynn Millions |
| $5,000 | July 2 – July 7 | WPT Venetian |
| $10,000 | November 4 – November 17 | WSOP Main Event |
As is the case with unofficial packages, the operator does not specify which tournaments nor requires entry. In fact, the $25,000 prize package “will be converted to cash” on June 22, according to the promotional terms. As Stone intimated, you can keep the cash rather than play the tournaments.
However, the operator would naturally like some package winners to play in events in Las Vegas. The dates tie in exactly with three of the most prestigious tournaments currently scheduled in the city.
The Wynn Millions at the Wynn, Las Vegas guarantees $16 million across its summer series. It got underway on May 27 and runs through to July 13, with over 30 events. The highlight is the $10 million-guaranteed Main Event, which has three Day 1s starting on June 25. The five-day event concludes on July 2.
In the Venetian Resort, the DeepStack Championship Poker Series started on May 3 and runs through June and July. More than $15 million is guaranteed in prize money. On July 2, the largest event on the schedule—the $5000 WPT Venetian—gets underway, a four-day event with three Day 1s over a long weekend. The tournament concludes on July 7 and guarantees $3 million.
And of course there is the WSOP 2021 Main Event. Most of the schedule has not been announced yet, but tournaments will run September 30 to November 23. However, one event revealed is the famous $10,000 Main Event, which starts on November 4 and runs through to November 17.
WSOP 2021 at a Glance
| Series | Location | Start Date | End Date | Bracelet Events Planned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSOP 2021 | Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino | September 30 | November 23 | TBA |
| 2021 Main Event | Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino | November 4 | November 17 | 1 |
| WSOPE 2021 | King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic | November 19 | December 8 | 15 |
| WSOP Online Domestic | WSOP.com | July 1 | August 1 | 33 |
| WSOP Online International | GGPoker | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Official satellites are the exclusive domain of WSOP and its partners. In the United States, this means its own online poker rooms—WSOP Nevada and WSOP New Jersey—are the only official satellite vendors.
In fact, these official satties have already begun—the first Main Event seat was won just yesterday and more are guaranteed for Sundays throughout this month.
Outside the US, WSOP lands exclusive deals with other operators to offer official satellite paths. In the past, this has been 888poker in the global market; this year, it will be GGPoker will be spreading satellites from August 1.
However, it is something of a tradition for many operators to offer unofficial “Las Vegas” packages with only the suggestion the buy-in is used for the WSOP Main Event: the US-facing offshore Americas Cardroom, Sky Poker, partypoker, even Indian online poker operators have offered such packages in the past.
However, this could well be the first state-regulated online poker site in the US to offer this style of package. It is certainly the first in the nascent Michigan online poker market.
The Ultimate Super Satellite on the partypoker US Network in New Jersey and BetMGM Michigan runs on June 20. Daily qualifiers with buy-ins as low as $5 start on June 13 and run through to June 19.
